Parents of Sunderland cancer sufferer thank community for their help

THE parents of a toddler battling cancer have said a “huge thank you” to kind-hearted fund-raisers.

Money has poured in for brave Sunderland three-year-old Kian Armstrong, after he was diagnosed with neuroblastoma earlier this year

The disease is a cancer of the nerve tissue.

The thousands of pounds raised in his name have gone towards building a garden at his Castletown home, in which he can play in between gruelling chemotherapy sessions at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI).

The latest pots of money have been donated by Vicky and Dave Stokoe, who run The Supa, in Castletown.

They have managed to raise £4,300, through events including a bungee jump and charity night.

Also, footballers from Hylton Castle TRW took on Hylton Castle FC in a charity football match to raise a further £1,100 for the tot.

Kian’s mother Jemma, 29, of Parkhouse Avenue, said: “I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone.

“They have been absolutely fantastic.

“Some of the money has already gone into Kian’s garden, which he loves.”

Any funds left over will go into a pot, in case Kian’s parents need to pay for immunotherapy treatment for the youngster.

Kian is waiting to see if he will be selected for a trial of the treatment at the RVI which would aim to rebuild his immune system.

If so, the funds will pay for a holiday for Kian in EuroDisney.

If he is not selected for inclusion on the programme, his family feel so strongly about the benefits of immunotherapy they aim to save enough money to fly him to America where the treatment is given as standard.

Kian is in the middle of cancer treatment, to which he is responding well, after a tumour the size of a small melon was discovered in his tiny body.

Jemma, who is married to Neil, added: “Kian’s plodding along at the minute and is happy in his little self.

“He had a week in hospital last week, but doctors are saying he is doing as well as can be expected.”